It's shaping up to be a banner weekend for the iPhone 4S in more than twenty countries that are greeting the new Apple smartphone for the first time at this hour.

On Friday, Apple's international push continued with the introduction of the iPhone 4S in several key markets, including Bahrain, Chile, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Earlier this month, other high-profile international debuts of the iPhone 4S took place in Brazil and Russia. Yet, oddly enough, the world's biggest mobile community - China - is still waiting for the new device, despite Chinese authorities having already signed off on the arrival. As it stands, the iPhone 4S should still reach Chinese consumers before the end of the month.

All told, the company is on track to have the iPhone 4s in 70 countries before 2011 draws to a close. The bold global push also bodes well for Apple as the company is poised to set a new quarterly record for iPhones sold in the fourth quarter of 2011.